Tennessee Volunteers vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Complete Game Preview

The last time Tennessee beat SEC East rival Georgia, the Volunteers were led by head coach Lane Kiffin. That was all the way back in 2009, and a lot of turbulent water has flowed under the bridge in Knoxville since then.

It's especially rough right now as UT's season is spiraling dangerously downward. Following a 24-20 loss to Arkansas on Saturday, the Vols now sit at 2-3 with coaching, execution and leadership questions abounding.

The Bulldogs are facing their first real adversity of the year, too. Everybody was all jacked-up for the battle against Alabama in Sanford Stadium, but it wound up being a Crimson Tide slaughter. 

Georgia didn't need a "Blackout" to lose a a lopsided game like in 2008. Instead, folks around Twitter were referring to Saturday's 38-10 loss to UA as the "Bleed out."

Even so, the Bulldogs' season is in front of them as they still control their own destiny with games against Tennessee, Missouri and Florida still ahead of them and South Carolina in the rearview. The Vols, on the other hand, are just trying to pick up the pieces.

There are so many subplots heading into the game, but both teams could use a victory. Let's take a look at everything you need to know about the Vols-Dawgs battle.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 10

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Place: Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tennessee

TV: CBS

Radio: Vol Network, Georgia Football Radio Network, Sirius XM 190

Spread: Bulldogs by 2.5, according to Odds Shark

Tennessee Keys to Victory

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Close the Deal

Out of all the Football Bowl Subdivision teams, six have led every single game by at least 13 points. Tennessee is one of them.

The Vols are 2-3. Everybody else is 20-0. If that doesn't tell you how frustrating a situation it is on Rocky Top, nothing will.

Tennessee has kind of become the butt of a national joke when it comes to inventing ways to lose. However, maybe the most bizarre and heartbreaking loss came the last time UGA visited Neyland Stadium, and Pig Howard lunged for the goal line but fumbled out of the side of the end zone for a touchback in overtime.

Georgia kicked a field goal in its possession and escaped Knoxville with a win. UT fans sit in the stands waiting for the other shoe to drop these days, and Tennessee senior safety Brian Randolph told the media after another one-possession loss to the Razorbacks, it will be that way until the Vols win one.

“It is definitely frustrating," he said. "I know it’s frustrating for the fans, but we just have got to learn how to finish, finish out the game, and keep jumping on them when they are down."

Get off the field

A year ago, Tennessee's third-down defense was among the nation's best for much of the season, and it remained strong throughout.

This season, the Vols can't make the play that will get them to the sideline.

Opposing teams are 10-of-12 in fourth-down conversions, and Florida alone made five in a comeback, fourth-quarter win. Against Arkansas, the Hogs got every meaningful third-down conversion, it seemed, in the second half.

Though the Razorbacks were just 6-of-15, they made key plays, and UT couldn't. They were also 1-of-2 on fourth down. That's a huge reason why Arkansas held the ball for 22 minutes of the second half, and with Nick Chubb, UGA runs a similar style of ball-control offense.

If the Vols defense don't force punts, there's no way they can score enough to beat the Dawgs.

Keep Hurd firmly in focus

It's hard to stay in a rhythm when you only have four second-half possessions, but the biggest weapon Tennessee had against Arkansas was the team's biggest one of the entire year.

That's sophomore running back Jalen Hurd, who was a force in the first half.

Then, after the break, he had just four carries as UT maybe abandoned the run more than it should have or simply didn't have the ball long enough to utilize Hurd.

Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is in a tough spot. Everybody is frustrated, and he's a scapegoat, but his play-calling the past couple of weeks has been suspect at best. He needs to call downfield passes, yet still revolve his offense around the 6'3", 242-pound running back.

Hurd has the ability to take over games. Let him.

Georgia Keys to Victory

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Chubb-a-lug

There was perhaps no SEC player with as much fanfare surrounding him entering the season than Georgia's Nick Chubb, the sophomore runner from Cedartown, Georgia, who is one big ball of blazing muscle.

While LSU's Leonard Fournette may be having a better season so far, Chubb is still a massive star.

UGA offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer needs to look no further than the Arkansas game film to see exactly how the Dawgs need to attack when they travel to Neyland Stadium. Georgia didn't run the ball as much as it should have through the first three quarters against Bama, and it burned them.

The Hogs gave UT a healthy dosage of Alex Collins and Rawleigh Williams III, and both thrived behind that massive offensive line. Georgia's line isn't that good, but its backs may be better. The Dawgs need to run a lot.

Spy Dobbs

Tennessee seems content with playing junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, and there's nothing wrong with that, as he's proven he can be dynamic with the ball in his hands.

It's when the ball leaves his hands that he's mediocre.

Take away Dobbs' running threat, and he's just an average quarterback. That's what Florida didn't do, and he showed out once he got to the perimeter and turned the corner. Against Arkansas, he stayed in the pocket and wasn't nearly as effective.

For some inexplicable reason, UT offensive coordinator Mike DeBord rarely tried to move the pocket with him, but that's another story. No defense worries about Dobbs beating them with his arm.

Georgia needs to commit a linebacker to keeping an eye on Dobbs. Making him one-dimensional spells winning.

Good Greyson

Fifth-year senior transfer Greyson Lambert was exceptional for Georgia entering the Bama game, having gone 33-of-35 in his previous two games against South Carolina and Southern.

Against the Tide, he really struggled and was yanked in favor of Brice Ramsey, as UGA tried to find anything that worked. Dawgs coach Mark Richt told the Ledger-Enquirer's Jason Butt that his team would go back to Lambert for the Tennessee game.

"

We had a few things happen in the pass game. We missed some receivers, dropped some balls. We had some balls batted down. We had a sack or two. I know one for sure was on a missed assignment. When you have a game where a quarterback hits 24 of 25 (against South Carolina), or whatever the heck it is, good things have to happen—protection, route-running, ball-catching and accurate throws.

We had some protection issues, we had some drop issues, we had some accuracy issues. It wasn’t the best conditions to throw and catch for anybody. And Alabama caused a lot of those problems. We have to react better to those.

"

Tennessee's secondary isn't anywhere near as good as Alabama's, so Lambert should be fine. But if the Vols can pressure him and force him into an early mistake, it could turn Georgia's offense one-dimensional.

That may not matter, either.

Tennessee Players to Watch

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Quinten Dormady

It's a topic around Knoxville that few want to talk about, but when does Tennessee seriously begin to look at alternate options to Joshua Dobbs?

Until the Arkansas game, it didn't seem like coaches trusted him to throw downfield. When they did, he couldn't make enough happen in the passing game to help the Vols win. When you take his run option away, he doesn't have star ability anymore.

And, while nobody wants to admit it, Dobbs looks too scared to throw an interception sometimes. If you're not taking some chances out there, you're being too conservative. It's almost like he has been coached to be a little too robotic.

Still, Butch Jones won't point a finger.

"We have to get the ball to the wideouts when they’re open, and they have to get open as well and create separation. And then we got to protect," he said.

Who knows if Dormady would be a better option? He's an exciting freshman who looked great against Western Carolina. That's it. But what if he hits it off with DeBord? When do you look into it?

Dobbs is a great ambassador for the program, a brilliant mind and dynamic athlete. But if he can't consistently complete passes and stretch defenses, the Vols are hamstrung. It seems like it's just a matter of time before Dormady gets a look if things don't change.

Brian Randolph

Nothing would make Randolph's career like finally beating his home-state Dawgs, who offered him a scholarship early in his recruitment but filled up before he was ready to make a decision.

Five years later, Randolph has experienced a solid career for the Vols, but this year has been far from his best. He is really struggling on the back end, taking poor angles, getting faked out in the open field and not tackling well.

It's baffling, and he is too good a player not to get it fixed. Randolph is a good enough player to make an NFL roster in some capacity, and the Vols need for him to start playing better. He is just not himself, and UT will need him to cap big Chubb runs and keep them from going for touchdowns.

Preston Williams

Needing playmakers at receiver, the Vols incorporated the true freshman more into the scheme Saturday night as he made his first career start against Arkansas.

It was a forgettable one.

He let a ball go through his hands after getting open downfield, and on what turned out to be one of the biggest plays of the game, he fumbled inside the red zone. 

Williams should bounce back from that; the Vols need him to because he's an elite talent.

Everybody in the nation (including Georgia) wanted Williams in the last recruiting cycle, but he stayed firm to his Tennessee commitment. It would be sweet for him if he had his breakout game against his home-state team.

Georgia Players to Watch

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Leonard Floyd

Georgia's freakish linebacker has NFL written all over him, but he's underachieved a bit so far this season. That doesn't mean he's had a bad year; he hasn't. He just hasn't terrorized everybody yet.

That's a scary thought for the Vols.

Floyd can line up in a lot of places and come at you from different angles. He has 27 tackles, three tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks this season. With the issues UT's offensive line has had keeping elite pass-rushers out of Joshua Dobbs' grill, it's going to be difficult for them to take away Floyd, Jordan Jenkins and Co.

Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt has a lot of weapons at his disposal. Floyd may be the biggest.

Sony Michel

Watch that secondary back because he can get you, too.

Everybody always focuses on Nick Chubb, and there's a very good reason for that. He's one of the best runners in the nation. But UGA's second-string back can beat you in a variety of ways.

So far this season, Michel has amassed 276 rushing yards on a 6.7 average and scored four touchdowns. He also is third on the team with nine catches for 148 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

The duo feeds off one another, according to the Augusta Chronicle's Connor Riley. Michel doesn't have to look very far to find the running back standard.

"If Nick goes out there and breaks a long run, I know that I have to got out and break a long run," Michel said. "He helps me keep a competitive edge."

Malcolm Mitchell

If you want a feel-good story, look no further than Georgia's senior receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

The 6'1", 195-pound senior from Valdosta missed a ton of what once looked like an extremely promising college career due to injuries. This year, he has battled back and is enjoying an exceptional bounce-back year.

Mitchell is the Dawgs' leading receiver, and though he may not be the threat he once was, he's still plenty fast and athletic enough to burn defenders.

He has been Greyson Lambert's go-to receiver, catching 23 passes for 371 yards and scoring three touchdowns. With Tennessee's secondary issues, Mitchell could be poised to have a big day against the Vols.

What They're Saying

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee coach Butch Jones discussed the Vols' struggles to put teams away once they are staked to big leads.

"Well I know they hurt; we all hurt," Jones said. "When you invest so much—and you know there is no magical potion; there is no magical cure—you go back to work. You keep working to get better. I love these kids, and our character's being tested. Our competitive character is being tested. Our fortitude's being tested. All you can do is keep working and work your way through it.

"I don't know. The opportunities are there. We just have to go make them. They've made them before and we are going to have many more opportunities in moving forward. How you get over the hump is you keep working and you win one of these games."

SEC Network analyst and former star player Anthony "Booger" McFarland put into perspective just how underwhelming Jones' tenure has been thus far at Tennessee with a recent tweet:

"B. Jones 14-16 5 SEC wins 1 top 25 win 5 blown 4th quarter leads D. Dooley 14-16 4 SEC wins 0 top 25 wins 3 blown 4th quarter leads."

Those are scary numbers for Vols fans.

Jones isn't the only coach in this game hearing questions about his coaching ability. Georgia coach Mark Richt has the market cornered on that, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's lead sports columnist Mark Bradley let him have it after UGA's loss to Alabama.

"

Speaking for myself, though maybe not only for myself: I no longer believe in Richt’s capacity to win a championship. Games, yes. The SEC East, yes. A championship, no. He has been given everything he wants by his administration – from big money for assistants to that coming-soon indoor practice facility – and the first test of 2015 yielded a 38-10 home loss.

"

Prediction

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This line opening at Georgia, -2.5, is one of the most puzzling things you'll see in this early college football season, but maybe Vegas thinks Tennessee will play with a will to win since it's a must-win game.

The Vols have got some convincing to do on this end.

Yes, the last few games between these two teams have been extremely close. Yes, Mark Richt has a difficult time dominating Tennessee even with all that talent. Yes, the Vols are good enough to beat the Dawgs and pretty much everybody else on the schedule.

But this Tennessee team doesn't know how to win right now. You're plenty within your rights and reasoning to question whether that's ever going to happen under this coaching regime. 

Arkansas provided a pretty staunch blueprint on how to beat UT, and, no, I'm not talking about getting down by double digits.

The Razorbacks just lined up and pounded the football with those stellar running backs and that massive offensive line. When they needed to sprinkle in some downfield passes, steady-but-not-spectacular senior Brandon Allen did more than enough.

Sound familiar? The Bulldogs have better running backs in Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, even if the line isn't quite as good as Arkansas'. They've got Greyson Lambert at quarterback, and he and Allen are comparable. Not only that, but UGA's defense is also much better than the Hogs' unit that shut UT down in the second half.

None of that bodes well for the Vols.

Prediction: Georgia 31, Vols 20

All quotes obtained first hand unless otherwise noted. Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.